Recently in Firearms Category
The day at the range also included my first e-postal match. And it was tremendously fun. I can't wait to shoot the next challenge (which I beleive will be happening in the Spring some time). Here are the rules (from Mr. Completely's site).
I managed to shoot each target twice. The highest scores were submitted (and they both happended to be my first attempts at each caliber).
Here are the results on the .22 target:
And here are the results on the .40 target:
Sunday was range day. I loaded up the petromuncher with three pistols, more than enough ammo and a variety of targets (including my first attempt at one of Mr. Completely's e-postal matches).
The range was packed which was surprising. Saturday afternoon, overcast and cool? It's deer and waterfowl season! In any case, I found a bench at the 10 yard pistol range and got ready to set up. Pistols uncased, ammo at the ready and magazines loaded. As the line was still hot, I had only a used target to practice on until the range was cleared. I whiled away shooting at the numbers on well used targets. At lease I could see where I was shooting.
Range is cleared and I have my first targets up. Here are some of the results:
First up is the Browning Buckmark .22. Here are the first 20 shots:
Not bad but it could be a LOT better. Over the course of the day it didn't get any better with that pistol. The sights are slightly off in elevation. It was eventually put away in frustration.
Next was the S&W 617 .22. Here's the first group, shot single action:
Now I'll take that any day. The 617 is a ten shot revolver and there are ten shots on that target. Over the course of the day I became even more comfortable with this gun. The trigger in single action has zero creep and it breaks wonderfully. It is still relatively new and the double action trigger is a bit stiff. A couple thousand rounds should solve that problem.
Here's the 617 in double action:
Not too bad given the stiff double action trigger.
Now on to larger things. the HK USP Compact .40 S&W.
Here's the first 12 shot magazine of the day:
Acceptable. The next magazine is just as good:
And finally, three magazines at the central target:
I'll take that kind of shooting all day.
Overall I fired about 170 rounds of .40 S&W and 300 rounds of .22lr. And Ill consider that a fine day at the range.
Mrs. Oilman and I spent the weekend at the Nation of Riflemen/Revolutionary War Veterans Association Texas Rifleman Shoot. I learned a hell of a lot. I'm also exhausted. A more detailed report to follow soon.
As weekend chores were completed on Saturday and we had no real plans for Sunday,Mrs. Oilman and I decided to get up early and head to the range. Talk started Friday night of bringing every firearm in the Mad Oilman household and firing them all, but time constraints and practicality prevented this.
On this trip Mad Oilman had a mission. Having purchased a Bushmaster DCM AR15 5 weeks earlier, and not having shot it (I know, it's very painful to me) it was time to take the newest addition to the family to the range.
The reason for this delay was partially due to time constraints, but also by the nature of this particular firearm. As it is a match grade barrel, there is a specific procedure proscribed by the manufacturer to break it in. And this would take some time. Extended time at the range in the August heat is not really all that fun. But then a new rifle is.
Waking up early on Sunday as planned, I made breakfast and prepared everything to go to the range. On the road, we made it in no time as Sunday mornings tend to be quiet on the highways in Houston.
At the range, the fun begins. The break in procedure is very specific. No more than 20 rounds and then a thorough cleaning, decoppering and polishing of the bore. Repeat until a minimum 120 rounds have been fired.
Now this may seem a pain in the butt. But reading various forums this is nothing. Many suggest cleaning every round for the first ten, every two rounds for twenty, etc. There are so many formulas it's unbelievable (and bordering on superstitious in my opinion).
I split the middle and fired 10 rounds before cleaning. To start I used the Federal Sierra GameKing BTHP. A nice accurate round for initial break in. Now for cleaning. Following manufacturer's recommendations, I used Shooter's Choice to start and then Shooters Choice Copper Remover. This took some time. The brilliant blue streaks from the copper remover were something to see.
Next set of 10, same procedure. I'm getting better in the process of cleaning this gun. It's not taking as long. Surprisingly, the copper remover did not create the extreme blue streak from the first cleaning. More of a turquoise.
Premium rounds expended, now it's to the cheap stuff. Olympic NATO surplus 5.56 mm. 20 rounds this time. This is stout .223 ammo. And fairly dirty. But with my cleaning procedure down it was no big deal. Firing 20 rounds and cleaning the barrel to spotlessness was now down to around 30 minutes.
This process continued for three hours. 120 rounds fired, rifle cleaned and a hell of a lot of fun had (the firing part, not the cleaning part).
The interesting thing is that the break in procedure seems to work. The last cleaning was very easy, almost too easy. I used the copper scrubber twice to make sure I wasn't missing something. Patches came out clean.
So does barrel break in matter? Seems like it does. Especially from the cleaning side. Put a little effort in early, and you'll be rewarded with much less effort in the future. Of course this story is ongoing so Ill report on cleaning as the rounds accumulate.
Mad Oilman was minding his own business, hard at work on a road trip in Tulsa when his wife sent him this link:
Of course, she added "We're going, right?"
Well, not one to disappoint my sweetie I emailed her back, 'Yes, sign us up. But. I don't have a rifle for this. I'll have to buy one'.
She agreed.
And now, what to buy? Long range open sight shooting? I was leaning FN-FAL or M1A but I'm fairly ignorant of this type of shooting. So I went to a phenomenal resource to see what would happen.
I posted "M1A vs. FN-FAL for High power rifle competition?" on Kim du Toit's forum. Within a few hours there was a raging debate on this topic. Luckily one of the respondents is a national level competitor. His advice was great and lead to my choice of rifle for our October adventure.
I can use this rifle in any NRA or CMP sanctioned event. I'm pricing it out in my market. Most prices are coming in at least 10% lower than MSRP, and others lower. Cool. It will be fun to break this in.
Mad Oilman had is in-laws in town and they expressed an interestin shooting handguns (as details on Mrs. Oilman's site By The Way
All in all a good day at the range. As it was a weekday, we basically had the place to ourselves. Here are some of the results (all are 10 yards).
The first target is the one used with our new S&W 617 revolver. This is a 2-1/2" circle
Not bad. Since the gun is new, the trigger is still pretty stiff. The way we shoot .22, I don't think it will take long to break it in properly. And groupings should tighten significantly.
Next up is the Ruger Security 6 .357 Magnum. Now this is the kind of shooting I can be happy with. (3 target)
And yes, that target represents six shots. Nothing like following one shot with another down the same hole.
Finally the H&K USP Compact .40 S&W. This grouping was my second magazine (first group had two flinches which I solved quickly). Again, I'll take this any day. (3" targets)
This target was shot near the end of the session. Fatigue is setting in but respectable results.
All in all a good day at the range. 450 rounds of .22lr, 150 rounds of .40 S&W, 100 rounds of .38 Special and 24 rounds of .357 Magnum. And the more I shoot the H&K, the better I get. Practice does make perfect.
The NRA convention was something else. Rifles, shotguns and pistols from every major manufacturer. Outfitters galore. Stuff, stuff and more stuff. It took three hours to walk the convention floor once. Every firearm manufacturer had representative models of their products out and available. Worked the actions, pulled the triggers, lifted shotgums to shoulder to point, it was just amazing. I was most impressed by theKahr Arms double action trigger on one of their compact offerings. It does not feel double action at all. One long smooth pull. Definitely worth thinking about.
As Mad Oilman is shopping for a deer rifle, much time was spent examing the wares of all of these fine manufacturers. Too many to mention. And we actually had the opportunity to heft a Krieghoff 12 gauge masterpiece. This is a ridiculously expensive gun. Just mind boggling in its craftsmanship. It came to shoulder effortlessly and pointed like a dream. Maybe in another lifetime I can own something like that.
I learned a lot. About rifles I have read about and have contemplated purchasing. Same with pistols. Shotguns were most impressive. The CZ booth was excellent. There may be on or two of those in the Mad Oilman future as well.
Well Saturday I promised photos. For some reason I thought Mrs. Oilman was taking photos all day long. I ask for her to transfer them and there are four. Yep four. Depressing. Well, here are two from the show.
Here's TxB fondling a Springfied Armory SOCOM 16
As you can tell from his expression, he likes it a lot.
Here we are at the Taurus booth. Manipulating some of their large frame long barrel pistols. Excellent.
On second thought, if we actually took pictures of every scene like this throughout our three hour trek, it would take me days to post the images. Two are enough.
As promised, the day at the range report has been updated with imagery. For your perusal:
Updated!
Eager to test out the newly installed recoil spring assembly, Mad Oilman loaded his range bag before heading to the office. Workday concluded, it's off to Top Gun to perform the Kimber experiment. Will the spring replacement make this pistol behave properly? Range time and targets purchased, Mad Oilman dons eyes and ears and heads to the firing line. Two magazines loeaded and target sent to 5 yard distance, it's time to start this experiment.
Kimber clip in. Release the slide. Guess what? Failure to feed. Right off the bat. New spring be damned. This is not a good way to start the day at the range.
14 rounds 5 yards. Good shot results. Failure to feed last round on one magazine.
Push target out to 10 yards. Three failure to feed incidents in fourteen rounds. I have to physically press the rear of the slide forward with my thumbs to completely chamber the round when this happens.
Target to 20 yard. Again multiple failure to feed failures. This is just flat out depressing.
Target back to 10 yards. Repeat.
Target back to 5 yards. 32 rounds to finish off a 100 round session. Results fairly good (one gaping hole).
Overal the replacement of the spring was a waste of money. Mad Oilman's advice? Do not buy the Kimber Ultra Carry II. Failure to feed, failure to chamber certain ammo, jams, it's just not worth it.
100 rounds of .45 ACP in a 24 ounce gun is a bit of a session. But Mad Oilman was not done. Putting the Kimber away and bringing out the relatively new H&K, it's time for a 50 round Texas CHL test. 20 rounds 5 yards, 20 rounds 10 yards, 10 rounds 20 yards. Target out, I'm a bit depressed at the shot spread at 5 yards. Attributing it to fatigue, 20 rounds slowly converge to make a nice pattern.
Target to 10 yards. Take aim and fire away. Everything is falling into the same 4" window. Unbelievable.
Target to 20 yards. I can't really see what I'm hitting, only what I am aiming at. 10 yards completed I retrieve the target. And I am stunned. Every shot fall within a 5" circle. I have never shot this well. Especially after a 100 round .45 ACP session. The H&K is worrth every penny. There is no comparison betwen the Kimber and the H&K. None.
With all the trouble I have had with my Kimber Ultra Carry II and the wonderful experience I have had with its replacement, the H&K USP Compact I knew it was time to think of parting ways with the Kimber. And as it is getting close to April15th, there is the matter of the Buy a Gun Day. Maybe it's time for a trade in to kill two birds with one stone.
Realizing I had put over 1500 rounds through the Kimber during its break in period, and being one to actually read a manual, I knew the recoil spring was due for replacement. But in the case of the ultra carry, this is not the case. Per the manual, it seems that the entire recoil spring assembly needs to be replaced. Instead of a $5 spring this is now a $30 assembly.
Wanting to be fair to the next owner of this firearm, Mad Oilman purchases the recoil spring assembly from the factory. This evening I attempted to install the new assembly in order to take the gun to the range tomorrow to determine if the recoil spring was the actual cause for so many failure to feed incidents.
I disassemble the gun and remove the recoil spring assembly and attempt to install the new recoil spring assembly. But a curious thing happens. It doesn't fit. Seems the recoil spring bushing will not fit into the slide. Its outside diameter is larger than the slide inside diameter. So much for quality control. Or vaunted CNC machining tolerances.
I compare the bushings from the new assembly and the old assembly. They are obviously different. (Mic report to follow). Luckily I can exchange them and install the recoil spring assembly.
At least the manual was correct about replacement times. The new spring was considerably stiffer than the used spring.
Off to the range tomorrow for a 100 round break in and future report. One misfeed, one jam and this turd is gone.
